Tooth brush



June 22, 1937; 1.. J. STRAUSE I TOOTH BRUSH Filed Dec. 18, 1935 INVENTOR A 00/5 J .57R/7l/55 fil ATTORNEYS WITNESS I; 9 W

?atentecl June v 22, 1937 WNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The object of this invention is to provide a tooth brush adapted particularly for brushing the teeth and gums at the same time, with a single motion of the brush, in an upwardly and out- 5 wardly direction when brushing the outside and inside of the lower teeth and gums, and in a downwardly and. outwardly direction when brushing the outside and inside of the upper teeth and gums, in contradistinction to a crosswise motion.

10 By reason of the special construction of the tooth brush of this invention, the user will be naturally inclined to use the brush as above set forth, inasmuch as he will find it awkward and difficult to brush the teeth and gums otherwise than length- 15 wise of the teeth and gums. Further objects of this invention are to permit the user to firmly hold the brush and operate it with pressure of the fingers and thumb, only (instead of holding the brush in the palm of the hand) and by regulation 2 of the pressure exerted by the fingers, control of pressure of the bristles upon the teeth and gums is thereby accomplished, permitting not only brushing of the teeth and massaging of the gums by finger pressure, but change of the angular relation of the bristles with respect to the teeth and gums as the curvature or angle of the teeth and gums changes.

The general practice in the utilization of the standard forms of tooth brushes is to bend over a 30 basin while brushing the teeth, but it has been found that such practice results in the liquids from the mouth, dripping onto the hand.

Another feature of this invention is to provide a brush which the user will be inclined to use while 35 standing upright and permitting the user to observe the operation and positioning of the brush.

The liquid formed by the water, saliva andcleansing compound remains in the mouth during the brushing process instead of dripping onto the 40 hand as a result of the present method of brushing the teeth crosswise.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the complete tooth brush; Fig. 2 is a bottom view; Fig. 3 is a top view; Fig. 4 is a view 45 from one end of the brush; Fig. 5 is a top view of Fig. 4 with a slight modification of the contour of the handle along its outer edges.

The brush comprises a handle I, having a re-' verse and somewhat flattened S configuration or ogee curve, in which the entire length of the reverse curves 2 and 3 extend throughout the length of the tooth brush from end 4 to end 5. The ei'itreme curved ends 4 and 5 are provided with brush heads 6 and 1. These brush heads are set 55 with respect to the horizontal, at an acute end obtuse angle respectively, and provided with bristles set in the heads, both on the same side of the handle, but at such angles that the bristles of the heads lie parallel and are directed away from the handle I and at approximately a thirty-five 5 degree angle to the horizontal. The head 6 lies in a general transverse direction to the handle I,

elongated in configuration and provided with a concave outer edge 8 and a multiplicity of rows of bristles, which bristles are set widest at the ends 10 9 and narrowed at the middle portion Ill. The brush head I is provided with a beehive or domelike shaped brush, the center bristles ll whereof are longer than the surrounding bristles. The handle is preferably provided, centrally thereof on one side, with a fiat or smooth portion l2 and corrugations or fluting l3 on each side of the flattened or smooth portion l2. These corrugations provide a firmer grip for regulating the control and pressure of the brush on the teeth and gums.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the top and bottom surfaces of the handle-are preferably smooth and the outer edges thereof are corrugated or fiuted, or provided with alternate ribs I4 and depressions IE, to permit firm grip with the fingers for regulating control and pressure against the teeth and gums. I

The head 6 and its bristles 9 and Ill are used for brushing the outer surfaces of the teeth and' gums, the concave portion 8 of the head 6 permitting the positioning of the bristles well up against the most inwardly edges of the gums. Pressure on the head I may be increased or decreased by pressure of the fingers resting upon the corrugations l3. Brushing is done in a downwardly and outwardly direction with respect to the upper teeth and in an upwardly and outwardly directionwith respect to the lower teeth.

By reason of the reverse curvature of the handle and the extension of the curvature of the handle to' the curved edge 8 of the head 6, the head and bristles may be inserted to easily reach the extreme upper and lower parts of thegums under the lips and as the brush is drawn in a downwardly and outwardly, or upwardly and outwardly direction, the hand or the handle avoids interferencewith the lips, nose, or chin. The S-shaped handle, with the bristles set at the specified angle therein, is of such a form as to be most conveniently gripped by the fingers and thumb, rather than grasped in the fist. Thus theuser -will naturally hold the brush in the manner in which it can be most easily and accurately manipulated with more delicate pressure and control. At the same time, the reverse curves form fulcrums for the fingers and thumb at the points most suitable for easy operation and use of the brush. This is, the two curves at the center of the handle form fulcrums or seats for the fingers and the thumb respectively; and this is true whether the brush is being used on the upper or on the lower teeth. This prevents the fingers from slipping along the brush and gives better control of the brushing operation". By reason of the fact that the brush is drawn lengthwise of the teeth, the bristleswill naturally enter between the teeth and brush the side edges of the teeth and the spaces therebetween. The fact that the brush head 6 is slightly narrower at the bottom or deepest part of the concave edge 8 makes it possible and easier to apply the brush head to the extreme top of the upper gums and to the extreme bottom of the lower gums atthe point when the cord or tissue connects the lips to the gums, and these wider parts of the brush head are not prevented by the connecting cords or tissue at the lips from engaging the complete area of the gums at the sides thereof and especially the extreme upper and lower edges of the gums. The brush 1 is utilized in brushing the inside faces of the teeth and gums and by reason of its beehive or dome-shaped character, and its small proportion, contact with the back surfaces and side edges of the teeth and the spaces therebetween, is readily made, and thorough cleansing accomplished, in contradis: tinction' to the use of a larger or longer brush which only contacts some portions of the surface of the teeth, leaving many portions unbrushed. The $-shaped handle has a further advantage where a brushing element of the dome-shaped type is used. In brushing the inside of the front teeth either at the top or at the bottom the domeshaped element may be drawn directly down or up 7 I same manner as the outer gums and with the same single motion. Near the back of the mouth on either the inside or the outside, however, the

s-shaped handle makes it easy to give the brush It' will be seen from the above that the present invention provides a tooth brush comprising a handle of elongated S-shape, the handle being symmetrically curved in opposite directions on both sides of the median cross line thereof, the arcs of said oppositely directed curves being substantially equal, with an elongated head at the upper end of said handle, this head having a plurality of rows of bristles extending substantially from one end of said head to the other end and of a length sufficient to span a multiplicity of teeth,

the outer edge of said .head being concaved to' conform to and permit the brush head and bristles to contact the extreme upper and lower edges of the gums, especially in the front part of the mouth, and reduce or eliminate interference with or by the cords or tissues connecting the gums and lips, the row of bristles immediately next to said concaved edge being arranged concavely to substantially conform to the curvature of said concave edge, the bristles and the brush head into which said bristles are set, being ar- 75 ranged at substantially thirty-five degrees to a straight line running from end to.end of the handle and extending in a direction generally upward, away from said straight line, and on the same side of said straight line as the upper of said oppositely directed curves, so that when the elongated head is inserted in the mouth thebrushing ends of the bristles, carried thereby, are adapted to flat surface contact with the gums and teeth, and when the brushing ends of the bristles contact the gums and teeth, the curves of the handle will assume 'an outwardly direction from the mouth, preventing interference, with the lower-lip, teeth or chin when the downwardly movement against the upper gums and teeth is employed and preventing interference with the upper lip, teeth or nose when the upwardly movement against the lower gums and teeth is employed,'the concave outer edge of said brush head permitting insertion of said brush head to reach the extreme upper and lower edges of the gums, the oppositely directed curves on each side of the median line of the elongated S-shaped handle in relation to and in combination with the angularly positioned brush heads naturally bringing the brushing ends, of the bristles in flat alignment and contact with the gums and teeth for the positioning of the tooth brush with the handle directed outwardly from the mouth, said curves providing a seat for the fingers and thumb respectively when the upper gums and'teeth are brushed downwardly, and, when the lower gums and teeth are brushed upwardly thefingers and thumb reversing their positions, and in such reversed positions, the finger seat becoming the thumb seat and the thumb seat becoming the finger seat, the curves of the handle providing the finger and thumb seats, and operating to keep the fingers and thumb from slipping and to maintain a firm grip and control during the brushing operation,

said combination encouraging the ready and convenient brushing of the upper gums and teeth lengthwise of the teeth in a downwardly direction and the lowergums and teeth in an upwardly direction lengthwise of the teeth, the handle being always directed outwardly from the mouthand avoiding interference with the lips, nose or chin while brushing in either direction and making it awkward and unhandy to. use the brush crosswise over the teeth, and inducing, at the same time, massaging of the gums with each stroke or brushing movement of the brush.

I claim:

a tooth brush comprising a handle of elongated S-shape, the handle being symmetrically curved in opposite directions on both sides, of the median cross line thereof, the arcs of said oppositely directed curves being substantially equal, an elongated head at the upper end of said handle, said head having a plurality of rows of bristles extending substantially from one end of said head to the other end and of a length suflicient to span a multiplicity of teeth, the outer edge of said head being concaved to conform to and permit the brush head and bristles to contact the extreme upper and lower edges of the gums, the row of bristles immediately next to said concaved edge being arranged concavely to substantially conform to the curvature of said concave edge, the bristles and the brush head into which said bristles are set, being arranged at substantially thirty-five degrees to a straight line running from end to end of the handle, and extending in a direction generally upward, away from said straight line, and on the same side of said straight line as the upper of said oppositely directed'curves, said curves of the handle providing a seat for the fingers and thumb respectively when the upper gums and teeth are brushed downwardly, and, when the lower gums and teeth are brushed upwardly the fingers and thumb reversing their positions.

7 LOUIS J. STRAUSE. 

